August 5, 2020

August has arrived and brought with some disgustingly muggy heat for the first three days—the kind of muggy heat I’ve always hated. Some days it can be so humid it’s hard to breathe. Our central air not only keeps the house cool—the coolness prevents the dampness from encroaching indoors. Well, for the most part.

Before the a/c, the wooden floors looked wet when it was as humid as it’s been. Now we only have one wooden floor left—the one in my office. And I can report that it hasn’t taken on that darker, dampened appearance this summer as of yet. 

Parts of our table gardens continue to thrive. We’ve had a couple of meals of the beans so far, but they aren’t doing as well as we’d hoped. David told me that he guessed that was on him, since he’d purchased climbing beans – at least the green and yellow beans that sort. Those purple beans that turn green when cooked, those are bush-like, and seem to be the best producers.

This morning, David picked our first two cucumbers. They’re not very big, these cucs, but they are home grown. Since they’re heavy, I ensured that they were not dangling over the edge of the garden as they grew. I haven’t seen any green peppers on those green pepper plants yet, although there were flowers. And the onions are growing. It’s not time for them to be harvested just yet.

We’ve also test-planted a few potatoes. We hadn’t planned to but it was a case of looking in the bag of potatoes and seeing sprouts. We put two in the very large pot that had previously been in our living room, home to the yucca (that we no longer have). We planted a few more in the actual garden that stretches along the back of our lower back yard. Again, they won’t be ready for a while, so it’s anyone’s guess how they’ll do.

By far, our biggest hit has been the tomatoes. And oh, how wonderful it was the other day to go outside and pick a tomato for my lunch! We’ve had more than a dozen so far; as well, we have a lot of green tomatoes growing and more flowers, to boot! Home grown tomatoes taste far better than anything you get at the grocery store. Our daughter is especially enamored of them. Her favorite thing to eat lately is a toasted tomato sandwich.

The number of people who are currently infected with the coronavirus in our county stands at 11, as of yesterday. We had been down to 1, but no one expected that to last. Masks are now mandatory in this province when going into public places. I have a variety of them from which to choose. David was able to purchase a clear plastic shield, which he prefers. Since he has COPD and breathing at the best of times can be difficult, the shield is a good alternative for him.

Neither of us has yet to go into a restaurant, and I don’t know that we will in the foreseeable future. We’ve had takeout, and for now, that’s good enough. We wash well when we get home, and use hand sanitizer when we are out. These are simple measures, that can make a huge difference. This isn’t a matter politics, nor is it a question of ideology.

It's a matter of public health. There is a pandemic raging; the number of people who contract it can be reduced if the public whose health we are trying to protect takes to the wearing of masks and the washing of hands.

It’s not politics, and it’s not ideology. No freedoms are surrendered in performance of these public services in the service of public health.

It’s something that lately has gone out of style, but hopefully is making a comeback.

It’s a little something called common sense.

Love,
Morgan
http://www.morganashbury.com
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